...I was startled by this comment in a Russ Parsons article in the L.A. Times: "THERE were plenty of surprises in Thomas Keller's announcement last week that he would be opening a new restaurant in Yountville serving traditional American food. The man behind the French Laundry and Manhattan's Per Se, as well as the jewel-box bistros called Bouchon, serving fried chicken? The guy who has been called the best French chef in America dishing up beef stroganoff?"

Somehow I don't think of beef stroganoff as a typical American food. What am I missing?

My wine shopping and I have never had a problem. Just a perpetual race between the bankruptcy court and Hell.--Rogov

FWIW, David Rosengarten thinks Beef Stroganoff has been around so long it's become "American": "American food is no longer just mashed potatoes and roast beef. For over two hundred years, American dinner tables have welcomed the ethnic, regional, and home-style fare of many different places and people. Some of these dishes -- Ravioli, Beef Tacos, Swedish Meatballs, Beef Stroganoff, Potato Salad -- have been around so long they seem as American as anything else. We've also greedily appropriated all kinds of regional specialties, dishes like New England Clam Chowder, Gumbo, Cornbread, and Texas Barbecued Brisket. And then there are the home classics that seem to come from everybody's grandmother's kitchen. As David Rosengarten makes deliciously clear in It's All American Food, these foods have become American, and together they form an exciting and unique American cuisine."

Bob, excellent reference. Due to my new job, I've been hanging out with a lot of Australians lately. I've often asked them, "What's typical Australian cuisine?" They are hard-pressed come up with an answer simply because, just as the U.S.A. is, so is Australia a melting pot and they only point to the many different cuisines one encounters there. And I note to them that spaghetti and meatballs are as American to me as, uh, apple pie. Oh, by the way, we've had them over to a variety of Outbacks across our great nation. They only laugh and have a very hard time navigating the menu.